A Creative's Exploration of This Journey Called Life

Category: Experience

Thanks for your patience with my podcast. There is way more involved than I realized, and life is full on at the moment. Since I was unable to attend the Smithrock Master Plan Meetings in October, I wrote this letter to voice my opinion. There are probably things I left out/want to add to it. … Continue reading Smithrock Master Plan

Conversations With a Dirtbag: Where Passion Takes Precedence. Campfire-style interviews with people whose passion is the driving force behind their nomadic lifestyle. Host Dana Bartus is an unknown dirtbag climber chick seeking to hear untold stories from the road. The idea is to hear stories from people that have moved beyond conventional lifestyle to pursue … Continue reading About

First off, avoid carrying your phone in your hand, especially in the streets. In general, you should keep your valuables hidden. Find paper maps and use your brain, not GoogleMaps. Without a Colombian SIM card, you won’t be able to use GMaps anyway. When getting into a taxi, don’t bust out your phone to show … Continue reading On Cellulars and the Internet in Colombia

Right now, the exchange rate is basically $1USD to $3,000COP. ($10USD = aprox. $30,000COP) Without a local bank account you will be limited to withdrawing cash from the ATMS. Often times the withdrawal limit is$300USD. Expect to spend about $10USD each transaction in fees between your bank fees and the Colombian bank fees. In a month … Continue reading On Money in Colombia

There is a lot that can be said about traveling on the cheap, even with its drawbacks. Hostels are a great way to keep your expenses low. Most offer single, double and dorm rooms with respective rates. AirBnb properties have grown in the cities, but staying in private rooms and hotels removes the social element … Continue reading On Booking Rooms in Colombia

I can give you every excuse in the book for not writing for the past three months. Writer’s block, an overwhelming amount of inspiration, lack of wifi, never-ending technological glitches (including losing my phone), time consumed by travel fun and logistics, yada yada yada. It was challenging to learn a language and think creatively in … Continue reading My Travels in Colombia

It was a long time coming. It began 6 years ago, I left my home and all things familiar to find a better place to live, a better way to live. To find the world I had dreamed of as a little girl. To become the person I somehow stopped trying to be. My younger … Continue reading Embracing The Unknown. Again.

I have been blessed with one whole moon in New Jersey. As I watch it wax full two weeks after the Equinox, my heart fills with all the joy and laughter shared with family and friends, young (growing tall!) and old. I spent my time here walking the paths of my past, feeling much different yet somehow the … Continue reading Oh, The Open Road